Singapore's Best-Loved Penang Peranakan Buffet

International buffets at hotels have become rather uninspiring, if not boring, as they mostly offer safe and fool-proof International menu. True, some try to make things more exciting by having Garden Barbecue, Rotisserie evenings, Mediterranean month, etc. But so far, I have yet encountered anything quite like the Penang Peranakan Buffet that is the trademark of Princess Terrace Cafe at Copthorne King's Hotel.

The Penang Peranakan Buffet dated back since the 1970s, when the hotel was still named the King's Hotel. Even until this very day, the key staff & chefs of Princess Terrace are flown in directly from Penang. With such great care to maintain the quality, no wonder Princess Terrace Cafe is dubbed as the oldest and best-loved Penang Buffet in Singapore.

Talk about Peranakan, I recalled watching a Singaporean drama-series sometime ago. Never has any 30+ episodes series absorbed my attention and engaged my emotion as much as The Little Nyonya had. The plot is set at the time when the nyonyas (the title used to address a lady of Peranakan heritage) had to learn to cook and elaborate beading to get married into a respectable family. Love was not an option. It was something you hope would develop only after you get married. I am grateful that those days were long gone. As a culinary enthusiast, I particularly enjoyed the cooking scenes when the nyonyas prepare the elaborate and laborious Peranakan delicacies.

I find the Peranakan dishes at Princess Terrace slightly dissimilar to those found in Indonesia. After digging for some information, turns out that Penang & northern Peninsular Malaysia acquired influences from the Thai region, which is distinct in the generous usage of tamarind (assam). Whereas Singapore & other regions further south are greatly influenced by Indonesia's profuse usage of savoury coconut milk (santan).

For starters or dessert: Feast on These Nyonya Kuehs

I'm going backwards here. Firstly, you MUST try the delightful (and colourful!) Nyonya Kuehs. I know, the Nyonya dishes are so good, rich and savoury, but please practice restrain on yourself and spare some space in your tummy to savour the delicate and elaborately prepared kuehs. Just in case you're wondering what each cakes are, here are the short descriptions for each:

The most basic example is Laksa which is a coconut milk-based thick rice-noodles dish that are found virtually anywhere in Singapore. Unlike the common Singaporean version, the Penang Assam Laksa had murky (but not milky) broth soup, which tasted sweet and sour with a strong seafood aroma that might be overwhelming to some (it was, for me). The sour tang was the result of processing pineapple, tamarind, calamansi, heated together with the rempah (fine paste mode from hand-pounding a carefully measured mixture of tropical spices and herbs). Rempah is the core of Peranakan cuisine, just like butter-cheese-milk trio is to French cooking.

Popiah uses very thin and elastic turnip-based skin, stuffed with braised minced pork, shrimps and stir-fried water chestnut.
The Kueh Pai Tee reminds me of the Krathong Thong I had at Baan Khanitha in Bangkok couple of months ago. This further proves the presence of Thai influences in Penang Peranakan cooking. I don't really like the Kueh Pai Tee here as it was absurdly too oily! The oil didn't seem to ooze out only from the fried flour cup, but also from the seafood and vegetables filling. I still prefer the Krathong Thong from Baan Khanitha.

4. Nasi Lemak

Help yourself to as much fragrant & creamy coconut rice as you like, then top it with the Kay Satay, Otak-Otak, Ikan Bilis, Roasted Peanuts, Cucumber, and certainly a must: the Sambal. I must mention the Otak-Otak, which was exquisitely well done! It tasted nothing like any Otak-Otak I have eaten before in Indonesia, Singapore, nor anywhere else. This one had mousse-like texture, very soft, almost to the point of creamy and densely foamy, that I had mistaken it as silken tofu! I couldn't resist such an exquisite treat that I returned for 2nd and 3rd helping of the Otak-Otak.

Thank you for visiting my humble blog! =) I should give the credit to a Singaporean family-friend who brought us to dine here. Such a delightful experience and Peranakan culture is always something I can personally relate to =)

Me? As I've mentioned in one of my postings, am a full blooded "Baba."I've been in Indonesia for more than three decades and just love this country. I don't know, but the team that provided the Peranakan Buffet at the Princess Terrace could be the same as at the Goodwood Hotel, Scots Road?

Hi Val! How nice it is of you to drop by here. Many thanks for taking the time to visit my humble blog :)

I didn't know that Goodwood also serves Peranakan Buffet! And actually I found out about Princess Terrace from a Singaporean friend also =)

Let me know if you're ever cooking up some laksa, would be lovely to visit you and take photos of you cooking authentic Baba dishes! Oomppph...even more mouth-watering, sampling those food straight off the stove =D